By: MartinSejas
The fourth part of this series deals with the debt/equity ratio, which is another key component of Warren Buffett's legendary methodology. In fact, it is a component that the man himself treats very carefully when deciding which stocks to invest in. Just like the return on equity in the previous part of this series, it is an equation that is commonly used in finance, however, Buffett is the one who makes the most and greatest use of it.
The debt/equity ratio is made up of 2 obvious parts and it's almost certain that everyone has come across the term some time in their lives, whether it be at school or at another educational institutions. However, some people may not be too familiar with the term, which is why I will now explain it. The debt/equity ratio is equal to total liabilities being divided by shareholders' equity.
Both of these are freely available on a company's balance sheet (sometimes called the statement of financial position). Taking these numbers from these reports is known as taking its 'book value'. On the other hand, if the debt and equity of the interested company are traded publicly, you have the option of using the market value instead. In addition, you may also choose to use a mixture of both the book and market value.
The ratio illustrates the proportion of debt and equity the company is utilising to support its assets. If a ratio is high, this corresponds to a situation where debt is mainly shoring up the company. The principal dilemma with a high ratio is that it renders earnings volatile and leaves it at the mercy of interest rates, which can be expensive.
In fact, Buffett takes the results of this ratio very seriously and it's very educational to comprehend the reasons why. Like all investors, he wants a company to only possess a tiny quantity of debt and the reason why is that a tiny quantity of debt indicates that growth in income is being yielded from shareholders' equity contrary to borrowed money. If a company utilises borrowed money to finance its income, this usually forms a vicious cycle of debt and repayments which is unstable and which is dependent on interest rates.
What investors should take from this part of the series is that they should focus on companies that possess a low ratio, but not just any low ratio, it must be low compared to other companies in the same sector. It's not difficult to get the numbers necessary to calculate such a ratio, because as I highlighted in a previous paragraph, this is all available on company reports which themselves are publicly available.
Some investors use only long-term debt instead of total liabilities in the calculation of the ratio. This could prove to be more useful and convenient as investing in stocks is for the long-term not the short-term. This is not just my own personal view, but Warren Buffett's own way of thinking.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Tips And Principles Of Trading For The Average Investor
By: JesseProfit
It can be difficult to trust the stock market with your money, whether you are new to trading, or are a veteran investor. The stock market has been a place where many investors have made both incredible gains, as well as loses, which are often much larger than the level of investment placed into stocks. It can be a bit overwhelming when faced with the realities and movement of the stock market on a daily basis for the less experienced investor.
Once the average investor starts to make headway, they will realize the market is not as overwhelming as they initially assumed. Especially if the investor takes notice of some of the general stock trading principles available, which can guide them in the investment market, allowing them to make money while still protecting the principal that they've invested.
One principle that an investor should pay close attention to is what many professionals refer to as churning. It is one of the largest stock trading principles that an investor can heed. A trader with online account access can oftentimes feel the tempted to actively trade their investments on the tiniest up and down, in an attempt to profit from each move while avoiding losses. In the long run, a strategy like this will not pay off as the unseasoned investor cannot time the market well enough. Therefore, trading in this manner is ill advised.
The effect churning has on your portfolio is to eat away at your profits, due to the brokerages charging commissions to trade your stocks for you. Therefore, a person who churns their portfolio will be left with a loss as they see their small profits disappear once the commissions have been charged on every trade.
An important stock trading principle that every investor should heed is to always remember to do one's homework prior to purchasing stock with a company, even if the purchase is with a company that the investor deals with regularly. The stock trading tools available on the internet should be taken advantage of, as with only a few clicks they allow the typical investor to keep their eye on a company's financial conditions, outlook and movement.
Charts and financial summaries are additional tools that allow both the season and less experienced investor to do a deeper fundamental analysis to compare companies and industries, and give them a better view of whether a firm can make it in the long run. In many cases, a surface analysis of a company versus its competition is enough to provide an abundance of information that will allow an investor to make a well informed decision.
A third of these important stock trading principles is to actively follow, but not obsess, over the performance of your portfolio. Many investors have the \"leave it alone\" attitude that they can simply buy stock, let it sit over time, and make money. Often, this can be the case given the average long term return of the stock market, but earning money in the market is never assured.
Make sure that you are up to date on the general news that is coming out of the companies that you hold stock in, and take note of any major developments in the industry or in the economy that could impact the company in the short term or long term. If you are fairly current on the news that comes out about these companies, you can be better prepared to pull the trigger on a trade and follow one of the best stock trading principles ever stated: Buy low, sell high.
It can be difficult to trust the stock market with your money, whether you are new to trading, or are a veteran investor. The stock market has been a place where many investors have made both incredible gains, as well as loses, which are often much larger than the level of investment placed into stocks. It can be a bit overwhelming when faced with the realities and movement of the stock market on a daily basis for the less experienced investor.
Once the average investor starts to make headway, they will realize the market is not as overwhelming as they initially assumed. Especially if the investor takes notice of some of the general stock trading principles available, which can guide them in the investment market, allowing them to make money while still protecting the principal that they've invested.
One principle that an investor should pay close attention to is what many professionals refer to as churning. It is one of the largest stock trading principles that an investor can heed. A trader with online account access can oftentimes feel the tempted to actively trade their investments on the tiniest up and down, in an attempt to profit from each move while avoiding losses. In the long run, a strategy like this will not pay off as the unseasoned investor cannot time the market well enough. Therefore, trading in this manner is ill advised.
The effect churning has on your portfolio is to eat away at your profits, due to the brokerages charging commissions to trade your stocks for you. Therefore, a person who churns their portfolio will be left with a loss as they see their small profits disappear once the commissions have been charged on every trade.
An important stock trading principle that every investor should heed is to always remember to do one's homework prior to purchasing stock with a company, even if the purchase is with a company that the investor deals with regularly. The stock trading tools available on the internet should be taken advantage of, as with only a few clicks they allow the typical investor to keep their eye on a company's financial conditions, outlook and movement.
Charts and financial summaries are additional tools that allow both the season and less experienced investor to do a deeper fundamental analysis to compare companies and industries, and give them a better view of whether a firm can make it in the long run. In many cases, a surface analysis of a company versus its competition is enough to provide an abundance of information that will allow an investor to make a well informed decision.
A third of these important stock trading principles is to actively follow, but not obsess, over the performance of your portfolio. Many investors have the \"leave it alone\" attitude that they can simply buy stock, let it sit over time, and make money. Often, this can be the case given the average long term return of the stock market, but earning money in the market is never assured.
Make sure that you are up to date on the general news that is coming out of the companies that you hold stock in, and take note of any major developments in the industry or in the economy that could impact the company in the short term or long term. If you are fairly current on the news that comes out about these companies, you can be better prepared to pull the trigger on a trade and follow one of the best stock trading principles ever stated: Buy low, sell high.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The Stock Market Ruling The World
By: Sourav Sharma
New Year came as a positive start for the Asian stock market with various corrective steps undertaken to ease the global economic meltdown. The Asian Stock Index flashed higher share price benchmarks for Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Taipei, Malaysia, and India. In the Asian stock market, Indian shares flaunted a rise everyday except few fluctuations, the most dramatic being the day when Satyam mayhem was revealed. The optimistic approach as well as the rise in shares (for India) in the Asian Stock Index is an aftereffect of the Indian government's announcement of a fresh economic stimulus package, tax cuts, and increase of credits cum lowering of interests by the central bank. The Asian stock market is now performing strongly with the big stimulus packages announced by governments across nations. This has paved way for the Asian Stock Index to exhibit positive proceeds.
The Asian stock index revealed various sectors including realty, IT, oil & gas as the worst hit as a result of Satyam Computers cheating investors by inflating its proceeds. The Indian stock exchange saw a slump of 7.21 per cent with the Satyam mayhem. The top stock exchange losers were Satyam Computer Services, Reliance Communications, Jaiprakash Associates, Reliance Infrastructure, and DLF. With around 2124 BSE losers and 364 gainers, Hindustan Unilever, Grasim Industries, Infosys Technologies being among them, stock market India unfurled mixed results.
Disclosure of financial wrongdoings by Satyam Computers backed by overdose of negative publicity affected investors positively as well as adversely. With a number of coveted clients associated with it, Satyam is still an attractive buy. Few industry giants like Tesco, Caterpillar, Nestle and other companies are looking for alternate options for outsourcing rather than hanging up on India. Innovation is still the buzzword as many a company and operations are in full swing towards achieving the same despite the stock exchange news airing mixed index outcomes. Indian offshoring still continues unabated notwithstanding the Satyam fraud or stock exchange news. Tesco, the world's third biggest retailer, said it is going to accelerate offshoring to India.
About the Author
Sourav Sharma is freelance market analyst and is writing reviews articles on money market news, india finance news, india news and information on india business news.
New Year came as a positive start for the Asian stock market with various corrective steps undertaken to ease the global economic meltdown. The Asian Stock Index flashed higher share price benchmarks for Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Taipei, Malaysia, and India. In the Asian stock market, Indian shares flaunted a rise everyday except few fluctuations, the most dramatic being the day when Satyam mayhem was revealed. The optimistic approach as well as the rise in shares (for India) in the Asian Stock Index is an aftereffect of the Indian government's announcement of a fresh economic stimulus package, tax cuts, and increase of credits cum lowering of interests by the central bank. The Asian stock market is now performing strongly with the big stimulus packages announced by governments across nations. This has paved way for the Asian Stock Index to exhibit positive proceeds.
The Asian stock index revealed various sectors including realty, IT, oil & gas as the worst hit as a result of Satyam Computers cheating investors by inflating its proceeds. The Indian stock exchange saw a slump of 7.21 per cent with the Satyam mayhem. The top stock exchange losers were Satyam Computer Services, Reliance Communications, Jaiprakash Associates, Reliance Infrastructure, and DLF. With around 2124 BSE losers and 364 gainers, Hindustan Unilever, Grasim Industries, Infosys Technologies being among them, stock market India unfurled mixed results.
Disclosure of financial wrongdoings by Satyam Computers backed by overdose of negative publicity affected investors positively as well as adversely. With a number of coveted clients associated with it, Satyam is still an attractive buy. Few industry giants like Tesco, Caterpillar, Nestle and other companies are looking for alternate options for outsourcing rather than hanging up on India. Innovation is still the buzzword as many a company and operations are in full swing towards achieving the same despite the stock exchange news airing mixed index outcomes. Indian offshoring still continues unabated notwithstanding the Satyam fraud or stock exchange news. Tesco, the world's third biggest retailer, said it is going to accelerate offshoring to India.
About the Author
Sourav Sharma is freelance market analyst and is writing reviews articles on money market news, india finance news, india news and information on india business news.
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